Tag: rogers outage

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Rogers says it will now credit subscribers for five days of service after major outage

Rogers has confirmed that it will compensate customers with five days’ worth of service following a massive national outage that began on July 8th.

“We have been listening to our customers and Canadians from across the country who have told us how significant the impacts of the outage were for them,” Rogers said in a media statement. “We know that we need to earn back their trust, and as a first step, we will be crediting our customers with the equivalent of five days service.”

Around 4:30am ET/1:30am ET on July 8th, Rogers’ entire network experienced issues, leaving millions of Canadians without access to internet, phone and other Rogers services. Further, Interac and emergency services were down while events like The Weeknd’s Toronto concert were postponed.

While Rogers said on the morning of July 9th that service was restored for “the vast majority” of people, issues have persisted for some, leading the company to now credit people for five days, up from the previously promised two days. According to Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri, the outages occurred due to a “maintenance update in our core network,” although the company hasn’t provided more information. To that point, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has ordered Rogers to provide a detailed account of the cause of the outage by July 22nd.

In the wake of the outage, Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Francois-Phillipe Champagne said on July 11th that he’s called on the “Big Three” telecoms — Rogers, Bell and Telus — to come up with a plan within 60 days to prevent similar service disruptions in the future. Specifically, he wants the carriers to reach agreements on “emergency roaming,” “mutual assistance during outages” and “a communication protocol” during telecom emergencies like the Rogers outage.

Meanwhile, a Quebec resident has launched a class-action lawsuit against Rogers, accusing the carrier of “gross negligence” while seeking $400 for each of its customers. Some people have also already received phishing scams from parties claiming to be Rogers offering them compensatory credits.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Via: CP24

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Mobile Syrup

CRTC gives Rogers 10 days to explain cause of July 8 outage

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ordered Rogers to respond to questions about the massive July 8th network outage that took down wireless and wireline service on July 8th and through the weekend.

As reported by the Globe and Mail, the commission gave Rogers until July 22nd to offer a “detailed account” of what happened with the outage. Moreover, the CRTC asked Rogers to outline measures it would put in place to prevent a future outage.

“Today, the CRTC ordered Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Rogers) to respond to detailed questions and provide a comprehensive explanation regarding the national service outage millions of Canadians experienced on Friday July 8, 2022,” the CRTC’s statement reads.

“We take the safety, security, and wellness of Canadians very seriously and we are responsible for ensuring that Canadians have access at all times to a reliable and efficient communications system.”

Alongside the statement, Global National’s Abigail Bimman shared a copy of a letter the CRTC sent Rogers requesting “comprehensive answers” by July 22nd. The letter notes the CRTC received “requests for a public inquiry” into the outage but does not say the CRTC is launching a public inquiry.

Source: CRTC, Globe and Mail, Abigail Bimman (Twitter)

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Mobile Syrup

Class-action lawsuit filed against Rogers over July 8th outage

Quebec resident Arnaud Verdier launched a class-action lawsuit against Rogers over the company’s massive, nationwide outage, which took down internet and wireless networks, disrupting emergency capabilities, financial services and government services on July 8th.

The outage lasted for almost the entire day. Rogers claimed it restored services for the “majority” of customers on the morning of July 9th, but issues continued for many through the weekend.

As reported by CTV News Montreal, the lawsuit was filed by law firm LPC Avocat Inc. in Superior Court on Monday in Montreal. The suit seeks $400 for members who are Rogers customers affected by the network failure, as well as for flanker-brand customers like Fido and Chatr. Although not indicated by CTV News, the lawsuit arguably should include customers of wholesale ISPs that run on Rogers’ network as well. The lawsuit does seek compensation for non-Rogers customers who could not complete debit transactions or e-transfers due to the outage taking down Interac’s payment network.

The $400 comes from two sources — $200 per member for failing to provide service, and the other $200 for Rogers’ “false representations” about having the most reliable network. Exhibits filed with the lawsuit show that Rogers allegedly instructed employees to remove advertising material with the phrase “Get on Canada’s most Reliable 5G Network” from stores on the day of the outage.

On July 9th, Rogers president and CEO Tony Staffieri released a statement attributing the outage to a botched maintenance update. In the filing, Verdier says Rogers should have tested the update before deploying it through an IT process called “staging.” The suit also accuses Rogers of deploying the update without a “rollback,” saying the outage “can only be qualified as a gross negligence on the part of Rogers.”

CTV News says Verdier filed the lawsuit because he believes Rogers’ promise of two days’ worth of credit is “wholly inadequate” for the damage suffered.

Source: CTV News Montreal

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Mobile Syrup

Interac says services are ‘fully available’ now that Rogers is back online

Shutterstock: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/toronto-canada-november-6-2019-interac-1556020850

Interac says its services are “fully available” now that Rogers has restored connectivity.

In a statement shared via the Interac Twitter account, the company apologized for the inconvenience caused by the Rogers outage and directed people with questions about specific e-Transfer or Interac Debit transactions to contact their financial institution.

Interac also said it would add a supplier “to strengthen our existing network redundancy so Canadians can continue to rely on Interac daily.”

It’s not clear which supplier Interac plans to add, but any expansion of redundancy would be beneficial. Frankly, it’s shocking Interac didn’t already have a redundancy system in place to specifically avoid something like this. Telecom networks aren’t perfect and go down all the time — although this Rogers outage was admittedly more extreme than the typical telecom outage.

Interac was far from the only company impacted by the day-long outage. Several government services were impacted, and the outage disrupted concerts and other entertainment too.

Header image: Shutterstock

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Mobile Syrup

People flocking to cafes for internet during Rogers outage

Amid the large-scale Rogers outage today, Canadians were caught by surprise and left stranded without access to internet and mobile services. The outage, which began early Friday morning, has affected most of Canada.

Now, as reported by CP24, the outage has proven beneficial for cafes and restaurants, as people are rushing in to find internet access. Those who can’t enter cafes and restaurants because of capacity were seen setting up camp outside in order to connect to the internet.

On the other hand, some cafe owners are struggling too, as without Wi-Fi, they are unable to process credit and debit payments. “It’s hectic you know, we have the square reader we’re trying to connect it, it’s not working for any Interact purchases,” a cafe worker told CTV News Toronto, via CP24.

Rogers’ flanker brands, in addition to Interac, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) phone lines, and the Canadian Blood Services’ website and app, are some of the major services that have been affected by the outage. Several other services have been affected too, and you can read more about them via the link below:


Here are some of the many services impacted by the Rogers outage


Here are some of the many services impacted by the Rogers outage

Here’s a rundown of everything you can’t access right now due to the Rogers outage.


Read Now

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: CP24

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Mobile Syrup

Telus tweets that Rogers outage isn’t impacting customers

Vancouver-based national telecom Telus joined Bell in tweeting that the ongoing Rogers outage is not impacting its customers.

Like Bell, Telus says some customers may experience issues contacting Rogers customers via text or call, but notes there shouldn’t be any issue texting or calling other Telus customers.

Despite the tweet, several users have issued complaints about Telus’ mobile data being slow or spotty. Ookla’s Downdetector.ca also shows a high level of issues reported at Telus.

My wife, who’s with Koodo, has also experienced intermittent connectivity issues throughout the day (unfortunately, our home internet is out due to the Rogers outage).

Of course, the Rogers outage impacted more than just mobile and internet customers — several financial services and even the CRTC’s phone lines are affected. Learn more here.

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Mobile Syrup

Minister Champagne responds to Rogers outage

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, says his team has contacted Rogers regarding the ongoing service outage impacting Canada.

“We expressed how important it is that this matter be resolved as soon as possible and for the company to provide prompt and clear communication directly to those impacted,” his statement reads.

Rogers has yet to explain what caused the outage, simply sharing that it’s aware of the problem and is working on a solution.

The outage started earlier this morning, impacting internet and wireless services for Rogers customers. Those not on Rogers’ network have also been impacted as various financial and emergency services relying on Rogers’ network went offline.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: @FP_Champagne/ Twitter

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Mobile Syrup

Here are some of the many services impacted by the Rogers outage

Rogers customers have no access to internet or mobile services due to a massive outage impacting people across the country. But the outage isn’t specific to Rogers customers alone. Many other systems that use Rogers’ business and network services, like banks, are also out of order. Here’s a rundown of everything you can’t access right now due to the Rogers outage.

Interac

The outage has caused Interac’s services to go offline. This means debit and e-transfer services aren’t available, both online and at checkout.

Flanker brands

The outage has also caused Rogers’ flanker brands, Chatr and Fido, to go offline. The situation isn’t surprising given the networks are run by Rogers.

Emergency services

Rogers customers are also having difficulty contacting 9-1-1. In Toronto, for example, Toronto Police say the network is “fully operational” and the fault lies with the Rogers outage.

Guelph Police Services also noted its non-emergency phone lines were impacted by the outage.

ISPs

Some internet service providers (ISPs) buy services from larger carriers at wholesale, and companies that do business with Rogers are warning customers their network will be impacted. TekSavvy, for example, said internet and wireless users are impacted, along with phone lines at their contact centre. A map published by the company shows the outage is impacting customers in Ontario and Quebec.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

The government watchdog says its phone lines are down but its website is still online.

Canadian Blood Services

If you were planning on donating blood or plasma today or looking to book an appointment with the Canadian Blood Services, you can’t do it over their website or app. The organization is asking people to call them for assistance.

Service Canada

To make securing a passport at this time even worse, Service Canada says the outage is impacting some of its passport offices. It’s unclear if it’ll make the wait to secure a passport even longer.